Militants linked to Islamic State kill 5 civilians in DR Congo

An attack blamed on militants linked to the Islamic State group in conflict-torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has killed civilians, local sources said on Wednesday.

The rebel attack took place at around 8pm (1800 GMT) on Tuesday in Ngite, in the territory of Beni in North Kivu province, local civil society official Jadot Mwendapole told AFP.

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“They killed five civilians, all men,” he said. Some were killed by firearms, others with knives.

One person was missing and property was looted, he added.

“The enemy, ADF, killed five civilians,” Augustin Kapupa, head of the Mbau administrative area where Ngite is located, said.

The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), historically a Ugandan Muslim majority rebel coalition, established itself in eastern DRC in 1995.

The group is one of the deadliest militias in the strife-torn area. It pledged allegiance to the Islamic State organisation in 2019.

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In November 2021, after several attacks on Ugandan soil blamed on the ADF, the Ugandan army joined forces with the DRC to try to drive the ADF out of their eastern DR Congo strongholds. Despite this, the group remains active.

In December, the group was accused of two attacks in western Uganda in which 13 villagers were killed.

© Agence France-Presse